Licensed since 1984, San Diego real estate broker Gary Kent is a recognized authority on real estate. In addition to selling over 5,500 homes for clients, he has been an expert court witness, trainer of other agents, and he does seminars on home buying, home selling, and investing. Gary has sold homes for The Salvation Army, dozens of major banks, and Fannie Mae, amongst others. You can find Gary on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Buyers Market

“Hi Gary, my wife and I want to list our home. She wanted to use her friend who’s OK, but not especially successful. You’ll be glad to hear that I convinced her to use you. I told her we needed someone seen all the ups and downs and been successful during them. Are you busier
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Buyers Market

“I just got a s-c-r-e-a-m-i-n-g deal on a home. And I want to thank you for your comments several weeks ago about the buyer’s market and that it’s a great time to buy a home.” ***ANSWER: Congratulations. Of course I’d be even more happy for the both of us if you’d had me find you
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Are you qualified?

“I have a letter from a mortgage broker saying I’m pre-qualified. Is that sufficient to show a seller that I’m qualified when I make an offer?” ***ANSWER: Per the conversation you read in the top section of this week’s Q&A, a pre-qualification or pre-approval is only as good as the loan rep that gives it.
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Find a good agent

“What can I do to motivate agents to show and sell my home?” ***ANSWER: Here are 5 ways: Price- Agents show homes they can sell. Price yours near market value, otherwise agents are less likely to show it. Commission / Incentives- Agents are putting bread on their table. Offer them a higher commission or other
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Comforming and Jumbo Loans

“What’s the difference between a conforming and a jumbo loan?” ***ANSWER: Conforming loans are residential loans for 400K and below. Their rates are typically 1/8% to 1/4% lower than jumbo loans (over 400K). Investments
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“Hi Gary. I’ve heard you and others talk about short sales. What is a short sale?” ***ANSWER: A short sale (aka “short pay”, “short pay-off”) is when a lender or lienholder on a property agrees to receive less than the balance due when the property is sold. I’ll tell you WHY they’d ever agree in
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Unusable land

“We’re looking at a home on over a quarter acre, most of it is on a hillside and unusable. The agent we’re working with keeps telling us that the huge lot means the property is worth more. Is it?” ***ANSWER: If the large lot means you have greater privacy, a view, the ability to build
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Price Your Home Correctly

“My home just went off the market after 6 months. I have to say my agent worked at it, but he suggested value range pricing and it didn’t work. All the offers were in the low end of the range. Why do people think value pricing works?” ***ANSWER: Studies have shown that homes marketed with
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Fixer-upper

“We’re in east county and to move west, probably University City or P.B. We know homes there are a little out of our reach and we’ll end up with a fixer-upper house. What should we be looking for in a fixer-upper?” ***ANSWER: You want a home with “the right things wrong with it.” The ideal
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Should you rent out your smaller house?

“Hi Gary. We’re buying a bigger home and considering keeping our old home as a rental. Do you think that’s a good idea?” ***ANSWER: Great question, one I hear from many of my clients. There’s no precise yes/no answer, but here are some things to consider: PRO 1.. Real estate has been the basic building
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